Singapore was already feeling the weight of the pandemic, with Gross Domestic Product (GDP) declining 0.7% in 1Q2020 — a smaller than expected decline, thanks to a surprising surge in biomedical output as well as an uptake in the finance and insurance industry, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said on May 26.
SINGAPORE (May 29): Unity, Resilience, Solidarity and now, Fortitude. These are how Singapore’s four Budgets for the year have been christened, to symbolise the values needed to tide the nation through the Covid-19 health-pandemic-turned-economic crisis. These traits will prove critical especially since the global economy is unlikely to recover quickly from the crisis, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said as he unveiled the package on May 26. “We must be prepared for tough times in the months ahead. This is a challenge for this generation of Singaporeans — it is a test of our strength and fortitude, a test of our resilience and unity.”
Signs of weakness
